BEP's environmental management system conforms to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001:2015, an internationally recognized standard focused on managing and improving environmental, health and safety programs. Continual improvement of BEP's ISO 14001 management system is demonstrated by the positive results of the ISO 14001 third-party audits and long-term improvements in key performance metrics.
Protecting the Environment
The BEP has numerous ongoing projects with significant environmental benefits.
Single Note Inspection (SNI) Process
BEP continued to develop and use SNI, a process that reclaims individual notes that pass quality standards from sheets of currency that contain at least one defective note. Previously, BEP shredded all sheets that contain at least one defective note. Each sheet contains either 32 or 50 notes. SNI is currently run on $1, $5, $20 and $100 currency notes.
High-Efficiency Lighting Systems
The BEP is upgrading interior lighting by installing LED lamps through large areas at both facilities. LED lamps reduce energy consumption and provide a better lighting experience and work environment while also reducing fluorescent bulb breakage and hazardous waste disposal costs.
Plant Optimization Systems
The Fort Worth facility is implementing a Central Plant Optimization project to increase plant efficiency through predictive control machine learning technology, and adjusting the chillers, heat exchangers, pumps, boilers, cooling towers, and other plant equipment in order to achieve optimal efficiency.
Improved Air Handler Efficiency
The Washington, D.C. facility installed variable frequency drives (VFDs) on air handlers in the building to reduce annual energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Fort Worth facility has received awards from the City of Fort Worth Water Department's Environmental Excellence Awards, including the Pretreatment Stewardship Award for compliance and a Pollution Prevention Award for its Offset Printing VOC Reduction Project.